


they don´t know you like i know you

by vicbartons



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2017-04-29
Packaged: 2018-10-25 10:54:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10762806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vicbartons/pseuds/vicbartons
Summary: when aaron wakes up from another nightmare, it´s up to robert to comfort him.





	they don´t know you like i know you

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: "don´t listen to them. don´t you ever listen to them."

“Don´t listen to them. Don´t you ever listen to them.”

Robert had woken up to Aaron screaming, his husband once again being tortured in his sleep by memories of jail and of Jason.

Always of Jason.

Robert wanted to kill him. He wanted to kill every last one of the cowards who had made Aaron´s life in prison hell. All the men who had dared to touch a single hair on his head and had opened up old wounds by dragging Gordon back into focus. Wounds that Robert had tried his hardest to help mend over the past year and a half.

He´d be lying if he pretended that there hadn´t been a split second, after Aaron had told him of his ordeal in prison, where all Robert wanted to do was to grab Cain and make sure they all payed for what they had done to his husband.

But he couldn´t do that.

That wasn´t who Robert was anymore and he never wanted to be that man again.

Even if he wanted to, it wouldn´t fix anything.

And that was all Robert really wanted. He desperately wanted to be able to fix all this for Aaron, make all the memories and the nightmares disappear.

Problem was, he couldn´t.

All he could do was hold Aaron tightly as he cried into Robert´s shoulder, his entire body shaking, and tell him that none of the vile and disgusting things they had tried to make him believe while taunting him in Gordon´s cell held any truth.

“They were right though. Doesn´t matter how many times I change my name. Can´t change who I am. Always gonna be his.”

Robert had to listen carefully to even make out the words that were barely audible between his husband´s violent sobs, his voice muffled further by Robert´s shirt.

Seeing Aaron like this was breaking the older man´s heart.

“You´re not, Aaron. If anything, you´re all mine,” he smiled lightly, pressing a kiss into the heap of brown curls under his nose.

At that Aaron´s grip on him only grew tighter. His arms were wrapped around Robert´s waist, his hands had found their way under the fabric of his pyjamas and his nose was buried deep into the crook of his husband´s neck. Robert melted into the hug, putting all the love and comfort he could into it.

“They know nothing about you, Aaron, do you hear me? Nothing.” Robert added with more force, one hand wrapped tightly around Aaron´s middle, holding him close, the other drawing small circles on his neck, massaging the spot in the way he knew helped the brunet calm down.

He hated the fact that Aaron´s nightmares had become so routine in the time that they had been sharing a bed that he had learned exactly where to touch and caress to help slow down Aaron´s erratic breathing when he was in this state. Just like he could tell from the way Aaron held himself when waking up, if it was okay to touch him at all.

He hated it.

But there was also nothing he was more thankful for than knowing how to give his husband at least the smallest bit of comfort in these moments, let alone the fact that Aaron trusted him enough to let him.

“They knew about Gordon…knew that he broke me.“ Aaron´s voice was clearer now that the sobs had subsided slightly, but there were still tears falling from his eyes as he shook his head lightly, the remnants of his nightmare still too present in his mind to be convinced by his husband´s words.

“He hurt you in the worst way imaginable, but listen to me, he never broke you,” Robert tried to reassure him. His voice soft and calming, his fingers combing through the hairs at the back of Aaron´s neck.

“Remember when I told you that you were the strongest person I know?” Robert could feel a small nod against his chest then. ”After everything you´ve been through, most people wouldn´t even be able to function, but you don´t just function, Aaron, you thrive,” he continued. “You are so good, Aaron, so much better than I could ever be. You gave Liv and me a home, you gave us a family. You made us feel safe and loved, when we both never thought we would have that. You´re the one that holds the three of us together, Aaron, and you do all that without a second thought. No matter how bad your problems get, you always try to put us first.” Finally, Robert could feel Aaron´s breathing slow down.

“He never broke you, Aaron, getting through what he did to you only made you stronger.”

Aaron looked at Robert then, biting his bottom lip, his eyes all red and puffy from crying. “I´m a mess, Robert. I´ve always been a mess. I don´t know why you even put up with me.”

Robert let his fingers slide out of the younger man´s hair, gently caressing his face, cupping it between both his hands . Carefully, he wiped away the last few tears from Aaron´s cheeks with his thumbs.

“Don´t you dare, Aaron, “ Robert leaned forward, pressing their forheads together, their noses almost touching, “ You are kind and loving and witty and loyal and you´re the best thing that´s ever happened to me. Getting to put up with you everyday for the rest of my life is more than I could have hoped for in my wildest dreams.”

He placed a kiss on Aaron´s forhead, his voice only a whisper, “So don´t you ever listen to them, Mr. Sugden.”

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr: [@vicbartons](http://www.vicbartons.tumblr.com)


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